Summer Pop-Up
There is a fountain of youth, and it’s GREEK! Our guest cook TONIA BUXTON believes the food of her homeland is not only HEALTHY but also ANTI-AGEING. Click here to read the full article
Easter Cakes • Flaounes (Φλαούνες)
Every Easter I get together with my girlfriends and we make Flaounes, just like my Mum used to with Aunty Veni. There is much arguing about the amount of spice, mainly cinnamon we add; I like lots, raisins too. The saying ‘less is more’ is completely lost on me. But you must make flaounes to…
Spiced Cod With Chickpea Mash
This recipe is super-easy and it tastes super-wonderful. The spices with the chickpeas and spinach just perfect this dish. If you want you can use any other firm white fish instead of cod. SERVES 2 Ready in: 35 minutes 2 x 175g cod fillets 4 tbsp natural Greek yogurt ½ tsp ground coriander ½ tsp…
Slow Roasted Tomato Salad
This is a wonderful way to use a glut of tomatoes (of which there’s a surplus in Greece over the summer!). It is delicious as part of a meze or just good on its own with wholemeal village bread. SERVES 4 Ready in: 2 hours 15 minutes 450g tomatoes on the vine, halved 3 garlic…
Aegean Seafood
SERVES 4 Ready in: 50 minutes 500g mixed seafood (scallops, prawns, squid, mussels; could also include white fish if you like) 250g wholemeal lumaconi rigati (giant pasta shells) or penne 4 cloves garlic, chopped finely 5 shallots, diced 1 large courgette, diced 1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper diced Large glass white wine 2 tsp…
Beef Stifado
SERVES 4 Ready in: 40 minutes 6 tbsp olive oil 1½ kg lean braising beef, cubed 4 cloves garlic, chopped 5 tbsp red wine vinegar 1½ kg shallots, peeled 3 pieces cinnamon bark 2 bay leaves 1 tsp whole cloves 1½ tsp aniseed (or fennel seeds or 2 star anise) 3 x 400g cans chopped…
Vanilla custard dessert • Charlotta (Σαρλόττα)
Many of my childhood memories are of the simplest pleasures in life…like this custard dessert made for us by my mum’s elder sister Thia Frosa whenever we arrived back in Cyprus for the summer holidays. Peace and quiet reigned as I would spend an age cutting the spoon sweets into shapes to artistically decorate the…
Pastitio or Makarounia dou founo. Pasta pie
I love making this as my children love it and it tastes wonderfully hot or cold. All you need to accompany it is a lovely fresh salad. Ingredients 1 packet no. 1 macaroni 500g/1lb2oz 1kg/2lb 4oz minced pork or beef 4 tbsp olive oil 2-3 onions finely chopped bunch flat parsley, chopped 400g can on…
Chicken and lemon rice soup • Avgolemeno (Σούπα Αυγολέμονη)
This is our Greek version of Jewish penicillin…chicken soup! Mum would always make it for us if we were not feeling well. Even better, upon returning back to Cyprus after a long flight or tedious journey, one of my Aunts would step in, leaving a vast stainless steel bowlful in the fridge ready to heat…
Olive bread • Eliopitta (Ελιόπιτα)
Paul’s Aunt Soulla showed me how to make this bread Learning to cook from our aunts and mothers can sometimes be a challenge as they have no set measurements and constantly say things like ‘oso sigosi’ which means ‘as much as it will take’ or ‘sto mati’ which roughly translated means ‘use your eyes to…